Park Ridge (N.J.) High School Head football coach Jim Cleary claimed he was fired after asking student-athletes to follow an offseason workout program. Following the football team’s 4-4-1 season, Cleary’s first as head coach, he wanted his athletes who were not competing in a winter sport to hit the gym, and he worked with a strength and conditioning coach to craft the perfect training plans. Cleary says he laid out this plan during his interview process, so it should not have come as a surprise to administrators.
According to NJ.com, “He [Cleary] thinks there might’ve been complaints that were taken to administrations by parents, eventually leading to his dismissal.”
Said Cleary, “I was in utter shock. I mean I don’t believe anything I did was a fireable offense. I was just asking, we had a disagreement on the level of commitment from the players who are not involved in a winter sport.”
“We were discussing offseason weightlifting programs, and I laid out in the interview process that I expect all the boys who are not doing a winter sport to work out,” Cleary said. “Pretty much the administration said that they did not want me to be pressuring the boys to work out. If they didn’t want to work out they didn’t have to.”
Despite Park Ridge being Cleary’s first head coach position, Cleary has more than 30 years of coaching experience in the area, including as Park Ridge’s former defensive coordinator. He said the offseason workout program was one he had led in previous years.
“I’m extremely disappointed that I’m no longer the head football coach at Park Ridge. I loved the kids. I loved the town. I thought we were building something really, really good there. I put together one of the best staffs in Bergen County,” said Cleary.
